In the second hour, Lionel will be joined by classical musician and 20-something entrepreneur David Handler, co-owner of the new NYC hotspot Le Poisson Rouge. Mr. Handler’s elegant addition the New York café culture is a cutting-edge music venue recently opened on the site of the historic New York landmark The Village Gate. Mr. Handler will join us to discuss the role of art in New York, the difference between “high art” and “nightlife”, and the balance his venue seeks to strike between the two. This guy is hip. Think Derm without the stultifying paranoia.

Mr. Handler’s voluminous bio is reproduced below for your edification.

DAVID HANDLER (Founding Partner)
David Handler is a founding partner of (Le) Poisson Rouge, a multimedia art cabaret on the site of the historic Village Gate dedicated to the fusion of popular and art cultures in music, film, theater, dance and fine art. In this role, David oversees all logistical aspects of the venue including design, acoustics and aesthetics.

As a devoted musician, classically trained composer and accomplished violinist/violist, David has always been passionately involved in music and the arts. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at The Manhattan School of Music where he trained in composition under Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh and in violin under Isaac Malkin. David also studied jazz drumming and percussion at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he was a conducting student of Jonathan Strasser and David Gilbert and served as Symphony Concertmaster. David's compositions have been featured in the master classes of Julia Wolf, Charles Wuorinen and Ned Rorem. He has played under the baton of Zdenek Macal, Kurt Masur and Jerzy Semkov, and performs regularly with the Leonardo da Vinci Ensemble. In 2001, David toured Europe with La Sinfonia de Quebec under the direction of Irenee Lemieux, for whom he was later commissioned to compose a symphonic work. His first Orchestral Set premiered in 2004 by The Manhattan Symphony under the direction of maestro David Gilbert.

David is a founding member of the Gift of Music Scholarship Concert, established in 1991 to provide music education and instruments for underprivileged children in the tri-state area. He has served on the Board of the not-for-profit CavanKerry Press, a literary press serving art and community, and through his role as founding partner of (le) poisson rouge, David was recently appointed to the Board of the Bleecker Area Merchants’ and Residents’ Association.

David's interest in indigenous music has taken him to Kenya, Tanzania, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska and the Brazilian Amazon. He is currently working on an independent film project entitled “Circles in the Desert” and enjoys sailing, lop-eared rabbits and ping-pong.